


campfire gender talks

by mia_wren



Category: Lumberjanes
Genre: Gen, Trans Jo, Trans Wren, Transgender Topics, jo/wren friendship, the girls discuss gender over smores, wren single parent au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:03:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27060895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mia_wren/pseuds/mia_wren
Summary: Wren and Jo discuss being transgender over a late-night campfire.
Relationships: Wren/Jo
Comments: 1
Kudos: 12





	campfire gender talks

"Jo?"  
  
Wren peeked out from her door; she and the Roanoake girl seemed to both be awake, somewhat coincidentally.  
  
A (very) surprised shout of a whisper came from the neighbouring cabin.  
  
"Wren!!? Oh god what a coincidence-"  
  
"Shhh, you'll wake the others up." said Wren, a laugh in her eyes.  
  
"Oh right- uh, what are you doing up?" Jo replied, surprised.  
  
"Damned if I know. Couldn't sleep."   
  
Both girls sneaked out their cabins; Wren making sure to be careful with Zodiac's notorious door. It creaked, a little; luckily waking nobody up.  
  
"Uhm- want to do anything, since we're both up? Smores? I can light a fire!" said Jo, quietly, and awkwardly.  
  
"Sure. Not much chance of sleeping, anyway." Wren replied.  
  
The girls walked together a bit into the wood outside camp. Not far, but far enough they wouldn't get found out. Jo took a bag of marshmallows, stuffed in a pyjama pocket, alongside a bunch of conveniently shaped sticks and a box of matches; "rules are for suckers" Wren insisted.  
  
For a while after the fire was lit, the two girls sat in sleepy silence, roasting marshmallows and enjoying each other's company.  
  
Jo sighed slightly. "How're the Zodiacs doing, Wren? Given you have a new cabinmate and all."  
  
"Oh, we're- we're doing okay." Wren replied.  
  
"I sense hesitation?"  
  
Wren sighed, and rested her head on Jo's shoulder; a gesture of platonic affection.  
  
"It's been... going well, all in all. Barney's fitting in wonderfully. They're a great cabinmate. It's just..." She trailed off, and turned her smore. She sighed again.  
  
"Been weird adopting a new camper midway through summer?"  
  
"No.. Its just that I finally have another, another trans person in my cabin? And its been so wonderful leading them through learning everything. And they remind me of myself when I was younger, I guess."  
  
"Oh, me too." Jo replied, "You know, my dads wanted me to be a scouting lad for a while. They could never understand why I opposed it so ardently."   
  
She paused.  
  
"I ended up coming out to them during a shouting match over it. Neither took it well at first. The first response was a thirty minute long group hug-and-cry. They changed their tune after that, haha."  
  
Wren cuddled up next to Jo, taking an unroasted marshmallow from the packet.  
  
"I can't remember how I came out to my mom. I do remember how she reacted, though. She just.. hugged me, and said she loved me, and didn't stop for like an hour. I remember the day after we discussed going clothes shopping, despite how hard it'd be."  
  
She paused, and took another marshmallow.  
  
"My mom and I only have each other. We could only buy so much. It was the day after I got the shirt you see me wearing so much, she rolled her eyes when she saw me with it but here we are."  
  
"Didn't you go through an emo phase?" Jo replied, sleepily, racing with Wren to the last marshmallows.  
  
"Oh God, yeah. Went from thinking I was an emo boy to being a goth girl. Funny how that happens."  
  
Jo laughed, and took another marshmallow.  
  
"To be honest I also see a lot of myself in Barney. When they and I first met I wasn't the nicest to them, which I regret. It just made me dysphoric seeing someone from the 'boys' camp, you know? My dads wanted so desperately for that to be me, and I'm relieved I didn't have to be, but god does it make me dysphoric seeing the scouting lads."  
  
Wren yawned softly.   
  
"Yeah, me too. Which is partly why its been so great leading them through things. When I first saw the opportunity to become a Lumberjane I was ecstatic, and read through everything I could find."  
  
"You and I both." Jo replied, "I couldn't believe I was having the opportunity to just be one of the girls, you know? It was like blissful relief and anticipation."  
  
She rested her head against Wren's; Jo was the taller girl, and even though Wren had her head on Jo's shoulder, could still rest her head against the Zodiac girl's.  
  
"But also terror. I'll never forget those nights of worrying what might happen to me at the camp, if others would be supportive. I ended up training my voice to 'pass' just because of it. It ended up being beyond my wildest dreams, though."  
  
Wren put her smore stick down and yawned sleepily.   
  
"I'm just glad I could get here at all. I often wonder how my mom's doing without me back home. As it is, I'm lucky to get to be a Lumberjane."  
  
"Same..." Jo trailed off sleepily.  
  
The two girls enjoyed some moments in silence together; sleepily roasting smores in silent company.  
  
Eventually, fire turned to embers, and embers turned to ash, and Wren fell fast asleep on Jo's shoulder. Jo had more to talk about but nothing to say; she ended up carrying an exhausted Wren back to the Zodiac cabin as quietly as possible.  
  
Jo wouldn't sleep that night, and in the morning nobody would know of the talk the two had had; but they would organise to sneak out every Friday from then on, and chat around a campfire.  
  
***  
  



End file.
